Big Finish’s main Torchwood range switched from a monthly release schedule to providing one story every two months earlier this year, but the loss of momentum hasn’t led to a loss in quality.
The first story to sit on its own, and be the only thing the Torchwood fanbase could talk about during a spell in which the future of the range was uncertain, was The Boy Who Never Laughed.
Why is it important to note this was the only piece of new Torchwood media for a prolonged period? Because it involves Tyler Steele getting off with himself.
That’s not the main focus of this emotionally-charged tale about working class childhoods in the late 1990s and 2000s and how you don’t need aliens and Torchwood-tinted horrors to become an utterly traumatised individual, but it sticks in the mind.
Since John Barrowman’s exit from the franchise, it has been gay journalist-cum-Torchwood Three member Tyler, played by Jonny Green, who has effectively replaced Captain Jack Harkness as the good looking, hyper sexualised male to star in modern-day stories.
Tyler was introduced in Series 5 as a sexual dalliance of Jack but also a way of bringing a very contemporary voice into the Torchwood Three team. While he still faces prejudice for his taste in men, he has grown up in 21st Century Britain and learns a lot about the world (and sex) through the internet prior to joining Torchwood. While he can flirt freely with anyone, he is usually a few steps away from being traumatised whenever that occurs. The body swap trope has already been explored with Tyler via the Torchwood: The Story Continues range he usually features in, so for his first-ever Main Range appearance, he gets to make love with himself.
The story starts with Tyler waking up in his flat to find that a second Tyler is also there, and there’s a joyous musical cue as the original Tyler has to assess how to react to the situation. He decides to ask if they had sex the previous night. Cue titles.
At this point of introduction, it’s quite difficult to tell who is who but after a few minutes it’s pretty clear if Tyler1 or Tyler2 is speaking. The first is wary, distrusting, unsettled, and of course traumatised; the second is quite provocative, more confident (or even egotistical), more flirty, and more mysterious.
Both claim they’re the real Tyler, and it takes a surprising amount of time for Tyler1 to ask if his counterpart is not actually his shape-shifting colleague Orr. There’s also a comedic moment in which they realise both being called Tyler might actually be the craziest part of the situation they find themselves in. That is navigated by Tyler1 choosing at times to use a different name for Tyler2, and when his first choice of name is rejected by Tyler2 over “daddy issues”, it becomes clear that this story is going be deeply introspective.
Having Tyler be the one to make Tyler open up, scrutinise how his past has shaped him, and what he actually means when he says he’s happy is a clever move, and also incredibly rewarding for fans of his character and Torchwood Series 5 to 7.
The first element of self to be explored is actually Tyler’s moral compass, which is not only Tyler2 probing Tyler1 but also the latter trying to figure out the former’s motivations for appearing in his flat. It’s somewhat of a light-hearted entry point into Tyler’s psyche, since it shows what makes him fit in at Torchwood Three compared to his previous career as a journalist.
To say where the story heads next thematically would be spoilers, but there are references to his colleagues and particularly liking one of them (again, an element appreciated by fans of that range), and the two Tylers continue their talks in places far away from his flat.
This prevents any blandness from creeping in by having the story exclusively in one setting, and allows the intensity of some of the introspective elements to be turned up to 11.
A warning is provided at the beginning of the story that distressing topics such as addiction and sex abuse are explored in The Boy Who Never Laughed, and writer Joseph Lidster handles those with care as he explores how once Tyler has made peace with the horrors of his work, he then has to confront the trauma he accumulated through his life before coming to Cardiff.
Excellent editing of Jonny Green’s two performances as Tyler, recorded separately and both pulled off marvelously, makes them fit together seamlessly and ensures this story remains believable from start to finish.
Also deserving praise is Rebecca Crankshaw, who plays Tyler’s mother and is able to convey her own character’s tragic story in the time she has. The ending is able to give her closure as well as Tyler, but no spoilers.
Torchwood: The Boy Who Never Laughed is available now from Big Finish.
